Don’t Blame The Economy

How does paying $20 for a cab ride and $8 for two coffees from Starbucks relate to fixing the economy?

According to Grant Cardone, New York Times best-selling author, international sales expert, a regular on FOX Business News’ The Willis Report and NBC’s Nonstop and on National Geographics‘ Turnaround King, it’s a symbol of why some businesses aren’t doing well in the economy.

Cardone was recently in Toronto to give a talk on the fundamentals of a successful business in the current environment. Cardone once said that the problem with the economy isn’t the actual economy.

When asked about that statement, Cardone said, “The economy is problematic but the real problem is that businesses don’t know how to sell in a contracted environment.”

He said that prior to the current recession, businesses didn’t have to get out there and sell because people were buying. Now, because business either don’t know or don’t have the necessary training, they’re struggling to keep up.

“What businesses have to do is go out and create jobs. They have to get in front of decision makers,” says Cardone. “It’s all about the value added proposition – anything that saves money or makes money. It’s about revenue.”

Cardone offers a few tips on how to survive in the economy:

1. Get everyone in the company focused on revenue. Cardone cautions that it isn’t just about the money but about motivating people to focus on generation, which leads to his second tip.

2. Identify and create a target list. This means looking at current and past clients. Cardone says, “See who you haven’t renewed and reach out to them.” According to him, it’s also about going above and beyond in service.

3. Activate the staff. I asked Cardone how a business can motivate their staff. His response was to get the staff involved. “It’s not the money. Instead it’s about helping to restore the economy.”

But back to the $20 cab ride for coffee. Cardone explained that he woke up and wanted to go to Starbucks. Unfortunately there wasn’t one nearby. He went to the front desk of his hotel and asked about a shuttle that might take him to the nearest shop. The front desk clerk said they didn’t have a shuttle.

Cardone used this as a example of how businesses aren’t adapting to the economy. “I got a cab,” he says. “The front desk clerk could have said they didn’t have a shuttle and gotten me a cab. I still would have paid the $20 bucks but by not doing that, I’m not going to talk about the hotel. They should go that extra little bit but the front desk clerk wasn’t trained to do so.”

You can find Cardone’s strategies on Youtube. Here’s a video of his sales strategy for recessions.

http://www.walletpop.ca/blog/2011/10/21/its-not-the-economy/